How Grit and Determination Underpin Sales Effectiveness
There’s an exercise I like to do with management teams and salespeople in which they list attributes that would make their replacements successful. “If you had to hire somebody for your job and would get a bonus of 20 percent of your salary, what are things you would hire on?” I ask. They make a list of twenty or thirty things. But it comes down to three broad categories. At least 60 percent of success is based on attitude—things like grit, endurance, and perseverance. Another 20 to 30 percent revolves around skills like goal-setting and communication. The rest comes down to knowledge of basic theories and education.
In case you haven’t noticed, sales ain’t easy. It’s hard. Especially in today’s ever-shifting landscape. To be successful at it, sales leaders need to understand how attitude drives success in their teams, and how difficult it is to develop the right attitude in your sales talent. Sales leaders also need to appreciate the difficult market environment salespeople face today—regardless of attitude—so they can see for themselves how important it is to have a predictable, proven sales process.
You can coach all day long for skills, and you can always pick up knowledge. But attitude and grit are something salespeople have to pull from down inside themselves.
For additional ideas on helping your sales team discover their true grit, get your copy of Igniting Sales EQ, available online at Amazon.
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